Whether in head mounted displays (HMDs) for virtual reality (VR) applications or in HMDs for augmented reality (AR) applications, near-eye displays (NEDs), or microdisplays, are being touted as the “next big thing” that may ultimately displace smartphones. For AR to fulfill its enormous potential, the market will demand highly mobile, untethered, discreet, and stylish eyewear.
Today's incumbent OLED microdisplays have many shortcomings relative to AR requirements in terms of color quality, resolution, brightness, efficiency, and longevity. Inorganic III-V Nitride (GaN/InGaN/AlGaN) based microLEDs having individually addressable RGB pixels, would be hugely preferred for higher brightness (e.g., for daylight viewing), for high efficiency for long battery life and untethered use, and for very compact forms, but unfortunately such microLEDs only emit monochrome (blue/violet) light. To realize full color, e.g., RGB, pixels, there is a need for a “color conversion” layer that can be positioned in intimate contact with or proximate to the microLEDs and that is efficient in down converting the monochrome (blue/violet) light into corresponding green and reds with little to no inter-pixel crosstalk.